Tied Together
by Galdr
Summary: Spoilers from the latest update of the manga. Two brothers clash and finally are put the endless feud to rest. So they thought; seems like their work isn't done yet. Who would have thought they'd end up right next to themselves? (Partnered with Bloodbound) [AU starting from Chapter 2, Part II] Rated T for language. Cover image by me. Read & Review, yo?
1. Part I

See profile for the reason of uploading this story. Other than that, this starts off from the recent update of the manga, so spoiler warning here, too. I do not own Naruto.

Enjoy this small story. Hope you all like it.

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><p><strong>Part I<strong>

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><p>Eight years passed relatively well since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the war that ended up costing more lives than any of the previous wars. The one that nearly sent the world into the brink of destruction. All was saved thanks to the combined efforts of the fabled Team Seven, Team Kakashi, The New Sannin or whatever it is they call it today. The last sealing of the Rabbit Goddess was successful and peace had been earned through that willpower alone. Those caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi were released, villages and any land that were totaled were healing slowly, and the number one hyperactive ninja became the kage of his village within three years of Konoha's reconstructing, again.<p>

Unfortunately, the tailed beasts had been sealed using a technique called Chibaku Tensei by Uchiha Sasuke. All except one, who wanted to stay behind with the blond "gaki" as he referred to him. But just as he, the 23-year-old, had been announced as Rokudaime seven years ago, the one who he thought was his friend returned from the last war's battlefield had confronted him.

The literally Last Uchiha, owner of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the Rinnegan, decided it was time to "initiate Plan Revolution". He wanted to remake the shinobi system, and by using those damned eyes of his. The endless battle between the Senju and Uchiha that started with Asura and Indra, sons of Otsutuski Hagoromo, once again commenced. Uchiha Sasuke wanted the power of the Tailed Beasts under his control for this plan of his to start. Unfortunately for him, his rival Uzumaki Naruto arrived on the scene to stop him. Eight years ago, Naruto had defeated him, badly, and now he was back for more.

Really, it all started with the favoritism of one son's ideals that led to this foolishness.

And it would end with the last of their descendants. Here and now.

"Really Sasuke. I'm disappointed in you." Naruto said, a frown upon his whiskered face as his cerulean eyes narrowed at his once-friend. Yes, "once friend" was the right term. He had seen that the Uchiha was long since unable to be redeemed. He had thought he succeeded in his promise to Sakura that he'd bring Sasuke back home to Konoha. But after all the bullshit he put them through, the blond shinobi felt he wasn't worth the heartbreak anymore. He had matured over the years especially during his reign as Hokage. He had fought alongside them in the last war, yes. He had made a decision that he would fight for Konoha and that he would become Hokage.

But what kind of Hokage-to-be is Sasuke being when he's trying to _erase_ the system of the shinobi? He didn't want what his clan had went through to happen again. Naruto screamed irony at the idea. He also became aware that Sasuke must have said what he said before because Madara and Obito were the ones causing the destruction of the world. Without the world in place, Sasuke couldn't 'remake' it as his own. Naruto asked himself all this time; was that _really_ Sasuke's ulterior motive?

"I don't care, Naruto. As I said before, you're the only one standing in my way of my plan," Sasuke's said, no trace of emotion in his voice. It was clear as any that he was serious. He had already killed three of the five Kages; the only ones he needed to kill off were the Godaime Kazekage, Subaku no Gaara and Uzumaki Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage. He also wanted to kill the former Hokage, Senju Tsunade, as well.

"Bastard! What you're trying to do isn't the way of a Hokage!" Naruto shouted, glaring at the Uchiha. "Where the hell did your resolve go? Your choice to fight for Konoha? To protect it? That's what a Hokage does! They protect their village! What you're trying to do is the opposite, yet again!"

"No. What I will do is remake this entire world into something new. The current Shinobi system is lacking. As I said before, eight years ago, it'll be the Revolution of the world," Sasuke replied, confidence spiking. "All I need is the Nine-Tails to make it come true."

"Bullshit, Sasuke," Naruto narrowed his eyes and uncrossed his arms from their fold across his chest. His left hand hovered protectively over his stomach where his old seal still lay. "There's no way I'd let you take Kurama from me! I've had it happen once, I won't let it happen again!"

The Uchiha simply chuckled darkly. "It doesn't matter. You forget I have the Sharingan and the Rinnegan. Two dojutsu that can and will suppress the power of the bijū," he stated factually and Naruto's face twisted into a knowing scowl. "And I can always resummon the statue again from the moon." To this, Naruto glared. Yes, that bastard _could_ because of that Rinnegan in his possession. Damn it! "Now, hand yourself over, _Kyuubi_ Jinchūriki, or I'll have to take you by force."

"No," the last Jinchūriki stated bluntly, a final resignation look on his face, "you'll just have to come and get me, _Uchiha_."

Sasuke didn't look one bit irritated, as if he predicted this would happen. "Very well, Uzumaki," he flared chakra into his right eye; it changed from the black, endless pool to the Mangekyo Sharingan shape. The familiar perfect Susano'o rose around him, ready for combat. "If I have to kill you, then so be it."

_I knew you were going to do that, teme. For Hagoromo, I'll end the fight once and for all. You, the last of Indra's incarnations, and I, the last of Asura's incarnations._ Naruto thought as he gathered nature chakra in at a much quicker pace than usual. Despite not having the sun tattoo any longer, just as Sasuke didn't have the moon tattoo from Hagoromo, he still had access to the form he took when battling side by side with the aforementioned former, Sakura and Kakashi. But, he'd only use it if he had to. Right now, he only used the Nine-Tails Chakra mode dubbed "version two" since the first one didn't have the, as Konohamaru says, "cool chakra coat!" Naruto entered it easily, feeling twice as powerful since he had the full biju instead of half.

"Sasuke! I won't let you ruin the happiness that everyone's worked so hard to accomplish!" the blond shouted, flashing towards him.

"Then try and stop me, Naruto!" the last Uchiha snarled, his Sharingan spinning widly as he met the attack head on. Kakashi, Sakura and Sai, the remaining members of the fabled Team Kakashi, had arrived to the battle, only to be refrained from entering the fight by their Hokage's orders. Naruto wanted this to end with them, he and Sasuke, and nobody else. This was their fight, the eternal battle between descendants of two brothers that no one but them could understand. The three could only watch in horror as the two fought once again, but they knew that this time...

It would be to the final death.

Kusanagi met the reformed Raijin.

Chidori met Rasengan.

Shifting Technique met Hiraishin.

Amaterasu met Rasenshuriken, even though the former had an advantage over the other because of its element, the wind enhanced spiraling sphere still rushed through the black flames and towards the Uchiha caster. Their attacks met and eventually hit one another. The Nine-Tails attempted to heal his vessel but Naruto pleaded him not to. When asked why, he simply stated, "this is the way it has to be." That, and the furball would be able to leave him by force even if they both didn't want to separate and free his chakra siblings from their prison.

If he wanted to stop Sasuke, he had to die along with him. It was the only way Indra's and Asura's battle could finally end and their reincarnated souls could be put to rest for once before recycling again.

Minutes turned to hours and hours turned into a few days that the two fought, trying to overpower the other. Sasuke was showing signs of weariness as his rival, both because they sustained injuries that would have killed any normal man. But these two were far from normal.

"...Sasuke... Your view...your way of thinking is wrong...! You can't do this, you just can't."

"You...just don't see my way, Naruto! Once... Once I deal with you, and _rip_ that fox out of your body and seal it, with their combined power... This ugly world will be wiped out and reborn!"

Naruto snarled. "You're... twisted. Y-You're not thinking... of Itachi's sacrifice, you bastard! What kind of brother are you, to... spit on his life like this? Again, may I... add?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed angrily. "I'm doing this for my brother as well, Naruto. For the lost Uchiha. So what he and they had to go through won't happen again. I promised Itachi I would change the shinobi world... and I intend to carry it out!"

Naruto shook his head furiously. "The hell...you are, teme! This... This isn't what Itachi wanted!"

"Shut up! You know _nothing _of what he wanted!" Sasuke snarled angrily. "Give yourself up, you stupid dobe!"

"No!" Naruto's cloaked form transformed into the giant form of the fox once again and began charging up a Bijudama Rasenshuriken. This had gone on long enough and he really needed to cut off Sasuke's Rinnegan and destroy it before he could really use it. Especially if he's been trying to find the other biju; it could detect their huge chakra signatures easily. If anything, he did _not_ want that damn statue back on this earth ever again. The Sword of Kagutsuchi from the Susano'o rose once again to clash with the Fuuton Bijudama that was fired at its caster's way. The two powerful attacks collided and exploded upon impact, dust, debris, chunks of the earth and a massive wave of chakra pulsing from that point.

"Naruto..." Sakura worried over her ex-teammate. Kakashi held onto her to steady her from the grand earthquake that followed. Sai managed himself well, but still was afraid for his Hokage, his friend, the one who had showed him how to express emotion and create bonds. Kakashi didn't dare activate his Sharingan-blessed eyes as both the blinding light of Naruto's cloaked form and the power of Sasuke's Susano'o would affect him. He was tempted to cast his own and assist anyway but his Hokage ordered him to stay back.

To be fair to the Copy-nin, he was hoping that his former Uchiha student would come back to Konoha as well. That battle with Madara, Obito and Kaguya had been a rough one that should have brought all four of Team Seven together again. But, it only served to become the next catalyst for Sasuke's next ideas. The Uchiha had been binding his time perhaps for the last eight years, most likely to recover from his intense chakra exhaustion and injuries from the war, as well as plan out whatever he intended to do. This Revolution he claimed he wanted to do. It was, by far, the stupidest thing he ever heard. The thirty-five year old Hatake prodigy tensed as he saw his former students clash fiercely one attack after the other. He only wished Sasuke could be redeemable like Obito had been, as did Sakura.

"This... This is over, Uzumaki Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, tears of blood running down his eyes as he applied more chakra into them. He momentarily stepped outside of his Susano'o and flashed through three simple hand seals; '_Ram, Snake, Bird_...'

_Oh, damn!_ Naruto hissed in thought as he remembered where he had seen that. Stupid Madara.

"Tengai Shinsei!" came the cry of Sasuke's determined voice. A darkness overshadowed Naruto, and the other three, Sai, Sakura and Kakashi. He had seen them, his team, ex-team now. He would crush them, too, since they followed his rival's infuriating ways. Heavy meteorites from the atmosphere were, in essence, being summoned towards them!

_No..._ Kakashi paled. He turned to the two. "We have to move, _now_!" He didn't leave room for any arguments. Just as they were attempting to leave the area, it was becoming a futile escape. The meteorites almost seemed to follow them! "Damn." the silver-haired jounin hissed. Still, they kept moving because if they didn't then it would be for naught.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto had flashed towards them, now donning his trump card form. He really didn't want to use it but the bastard Uchiha wasn't giving him any choice. "Stay near me, you guys. This is going to get nasty." He ordered. Sakura and Sai moved closer towards their Hokage as did Kakashi. They knew Sakura wanted to heal Naruto but he wouldn't allow it. Hell, he still wouldn't allow his tenant to do it, either. No doubt it was frustrating the fox. Gathering the Truth seeking balls, Naruto raised his hands, commanding them to take on a defensive, platform barrier to shield himself and his teammates from Sasuke's jutsu.

The meteorites crashed onto the surface which negated the chakra surrounding them when they contacted the barrier, much to Sasuke's frustration.

"Are you all right?" Naruto asked them.

"Yes," Kakashi spoke up, relieved in many ways.

Naruto smiled warmly. "Good."

"Naruto... Do you and Sasuke have to do this? There... There has to be some other way..." Sakura pleaded. Even though she didn't add on the '-kun' to Sasuke's name anymore, she still had high hopes and wishes. She still didn't trust him but deep down... a tiny part of her cared about him, even though the bastard betrayed _twice_ now.

"No, Sakura, there isn't. I thought we had him back eight years ago when we were fighting in the war together." Naruto frowned as he recalled the memories. "But... he didn't stay by his word. He's fragile. He's not trustworthy. The only way he can see what we see is if I kill him. This battle is between us." He lowered his head in resignation once again. "This fight between us is, as I hate to quote a young Neji, fated to happen. He and I are the current descendants of Hagoromo's sons. The fight between them stemmed from their era to Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, and then finally to Sasuke and I. This has to end, it has to be resolved. I've tried to talk him out of it before, tried to persuade him his way wasn't right. But... his ideals are still different. He's not out for revenge anymore, then I don't know what's in his head."

The Rokudaime sighed heavily. "I feel like I've tried everything with him. Except death. I haven't given him death."

"I know that. But... I worry about you. You're the Hokage, you idiot! You can't—!"

"I know. But in order for this never ending feud to stop, I will die with him. To end the curse of hatred and this battle between the Uchiha and Senju. If I stay alive, Asura won't rest in peace with his brother. His will, as good as it is, will continue to flourish. While that's great, Indra's will was just as important. Both ways, of power and trust, are what this world needs. But, Sasuke hasn't understood that. I thought he did, but he didn't. If I have to end Indra, then he must end Asura." His eyes were dead set on this decision.

Sakura refused to cry, but she could tell she was getting close to them.

"Stay here." Naruto commanded them, leaving the three of them rigid. He let down his barrier when the offending jutsu of Sasuke's ended. Then, as quickly as he arrived to them, he flashed away, leaving a streak of white instead of yellow.

"It appears you can still use it," Sasuke commented on the senjutsu form, frowning.

"Yeah? And you can still use Susano'o," Naruto added sarcastically.

"Hmph, whatever. It doesn't matter. I'll still crush you and take the fox. After all, its supposed to fall under the mighty Sharingan. Just like Madara did." At this, Naruto felt a burning warmth from his stomach, signaling his partner's anger.

_**Kill him. Destroy him.**_

And he would, as soon as he destroyed those damnable eyes.

Naruto began forming another Fuuton Rasenshuriken. "Let's see what you got, teme."

Sasuke smirked for once, forming a Enton enhanced Chidori. "As if you can keep up, dobe."

The two men moved towards each other in flashes of unreadable speed, throwing their techniques forward. Flashing through their memories, were faint images of two boys, one with black hair and one with brown hair, growing up together and eventually clashing at one another, just as they were.

'_Indra...Brother, I don't want to fight you. Don't do this._'

'_Enough, Asura! Draw your weapon! If you don't, I'll kill you!_'

'_Father wouldn't want this to happen! Not between us!_'

'_Silence! It's your fault! Everything is your fault! Father was going to choose _me _to succeed him. Then you and your stupid ideals come in the way and he chooses you. _I'm _the eldest. I should have been chosen! Not you! You can't even use Chakra!_'

'_...Indra...You know why I can't use it, but something else._'

'_Stop talking, Asura and fight me! We will settle who is really worthy of Father's will!_'

'_So be it, brother. I will not fail._'

'_And neither shall I. I will fight on even til the death!_'

'_And I as well! I will make you understand me, Indra!_'

"ENTON: CHIDORI!"

"FUUTON: RASENSHURIKEN!"

The jutsu clashed, both pressing forward to overthrow the other in terms of strength, endurance, power and will. Sasuke, for his plan of the revolution, for his brother and clan's suffering, and Naruto, for his village, for his partner and for the world to know peace. The use of the jutsu were draining them of their chakra. Sasuke's Susanoo decomposed from the overuse and Naruto's senjutsu form flickered out like a light bulb. But they still kept their attacks going, their glares narrowed at the other, determined to _finish_ what they started at the Valley of the End all those years ago when they were preteens.

The blast of the techniques blinded them and pushed them away at varying distances, creating a devastating crater below them. Sasuke rolled off into one direction and Naruto the other. Even tired out as they were, battered, scarred, and clothes shredding in varying places, they didn't give up. One more time, they drew their swords and rushed at each other silently once again, this time...this time making their attacks connect.

Sasuke's Kusanagi pierced through Naruto's chest.

Naruto's Raijin stabbed through Sasuke's.

The pair glared at one another for only the battle of who could remain alive the longest as blood poured out of them like a fountain that was turned on. It was in that moment, both whipped out a kunai and stabbed each other again. Sasuke attempted to behead Naruto, who instinctively moved out of the way from the fast attack, the blade's tip making a flesh wound, a bleeding slit across his neck, however, managed to do what he wanted to do in the first place; get rid of those damnable eyes.

Well, he didn't get both of them, but he got the _main_ one out of the way. The Rinnegan. His kunai dug deeply into into the Uchiha's left socket. He screamed bloody fury before collapsing, Naruto following right after him.

"Y-You fucking...bastard!" Sasuke roared, coughing up blood and choking on it at the same time. It was puddling around his form. Naruto's wounds also bled out underneath him despite him bearing a victorious grin. He knew that would be short-lived.

"Teme...that eye is dangerous... But I...did it. I ended it. We ended it. The feud will be over the moment...The moment we die."

Sasuke simply turned to him, fury written in his remaining eye. As much as he wanted to shout and scream at Naruto, he couldn't. For only a moment, the pair saw each other, but saw the brother they represented. He remembered what that old sage told them, that the two of them are the reincarnations of that sage's sons. The ones who fought for ages, their souls and wills went through the reincarnation cycle twice, with him and Naruto being the current, and now probably last, ones. The Uchiha would be no more as he was the last. Naruto was the last Jinchuuriki, but as soon as his body gives out, the fox will be free to roam. And now that his Rinnegan eye was destroyed...

The Chibaku Tensei was broken.

Dispelling from the black spheres were the tailed beasts, now finally free once again.

"NARUTO!" Sakura cried as Team Kakashi rushed towards him.

"Guys, s...stop. This... This is...what...what it's meant to be. H-how it is. Can't...Can't stop it... The cycle," Naruto coughed, his eyes growing heavier as blood freshly drew from his mouth. His blue orbs, losing their radiant shine, only focused on the now dark, endless pool of Sasuke's, who only stared back at him. "Indra and Asura... their fight is over. They...finally killed each other. To stop this from...happening...again..."

"..." Sasuke said nothing. How could he? This time, he really killed the man that had become his best friend. His brother in everything but blood. The one he betrayed twice to. But even so, he had an ambition, a promise to carry out. But he couldn't do it if he was dead! No, his spirit, his will, it needed to live on! But, if his will lived, like Indra's, then Naruto's will, the will inherited from Asura, would just follow and the cycle would repeat itself.

Was... was all this horrifying pain worth it? They had been on death's door before during the last war... Now this. There was nobody here to heal them. Sure, there was Sakura, but he doubted she would heal him. Sasuke closed his eye, trying to shut out the agonizing pain. He could see into his memories, everything he had done. It wasn't honorable at all. It was disgusting. But, towards the end, he felt he was going the right way, but as soon as he remembered what he promised to Itachi, he had to change the shinobi world. The way it currently lead was corruptible and ugly. He had to fix it.

Itachi.

His mind's eye of Itachi, the image of him, always smiling at him. Now, it was frowning at him. No, why was he frowning at him? Why, why isn't he smiling for him?

"He's not...smiling for you... like he is for me, is he, Sasuke?"

The last Uchiha knew who Naruto was talking about.

"...Itachi...why... why isn't... why aren't you smiling for me... Nii-san? Why...?" He whispered somberly to himself.

Suddenly, a hand covered one of his own. Sasuke's only good eye opened and his head slowly turned to the one who touched him. Weakly, he adjusted his dulling eyesight to the blond-haired man. Whose hand was upon his, that clutched it, despite all the hardship, all the pain, all the bullshit he was put through. And the cause of most of that pain, was him. Why? Why, after all this time, did Naruto look so damn forgiving? But, it was that look, those eyes...

It understood him.

Like they always had.

Naruto's grasp was getting fainter, but it squeezed once.

Sasuke, in vain effort, allowed himself one last time to grasp that hand and squeeze back.

Their eyes met only one more time, an unspoken sort of conversation went on between them. It was between the two academy students who rivaled one another. It was between the dead-last and the rookie of the year, two boys that became friends. It was between the Jinchuuriki and the Avenger. But most importantly, it was between two brothers, literally and spiritually, unbound by blood in this life, but by blood in a long lost time.

Unspoken.

'_...Dobe._' Finally, it was over. A genuine expression of relief graced him. The last Uchiha felt...empowered. The feeling that he could finally put everything he had done away and just rest. Rest from all the pain and suffering he endured and caused. He could perhaps see his family again, in the afterlife, and just _rest_.

'..._Teme_.' The smile echoed back. Finally, his life as the child who suffered everything to the man who became the strongest in his village. His role as the last Jinchuuriki was over. He would soon join his parents in the afterlife. He was finally free. Free of the shackles. Free of the curse that bound him, Sasuke, the Uchiha and Senju clans into the never ending fight. It had been won, by the deaths of the brothers that brought it along.

Sakura's tears were just a fading memory.

Kakashi's despaired expression was just like a dream.

Sai's sadness was just another faint feeling.

Kurama's overwhelming worry was the hardest to feel. But, his freedom was the last thing Naruto could offer the biju who had become his second best friend. He could live without being sealed again. Without a Rinnegan, the statue would remain in the moon. No Sharingan around to control them. The tailed beasts were free as they were supposed to be. As the light left both Sasuke's and Naruto's eyes, their breath becoming shallower as their bodies slowly deteriorated and their hands losing their grasp on each other's hands, they did one more thing together, as friends and as brothers.

They smiled.

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><p>Good enough ending? Hope so. Let's keep going with this. Not going to make this any longer than Perhaps 7 or 8 chapters.<p> 


	2. Part II

Here we are, Part II. Whoop. I also put up the wrong cover image for this story. Bah, I'll fix it later. The disclaimer is on the first chapter. Bye for now!

Edited: 10/8/2014

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><p><strong>Part II<strong>

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><p>Sasuke felt awful.<p>

No, awful wasn't the word for how he felt but it was the closest one he could think of at the moment. His head hurt, probably because of a damnable headache. His muscles felt like they were being stretched at impossible lengths, despite all the training he thrust himself into. He also didn't forget that his lungs felt like they were on fire, as if he set an Amaterasu upon them. As ridiculous as that sounded, he consciously believed it.

Not to forget, he killed his best friend, his long time rival since they attended the academy and said best friend killed him as well. While he had his mind set on fulfilling his promise to Itachi, in the back of his mind, he truthfully _didn't_ want to kill Naruto. But, he had to. If he wanted the Nine-Tails that stubbornly resided within his body, he needed to kill him. As simple as that sounded, he couldn't do it the time he declared his plans of revolutionizing the shinobi system. The system that wound up making his brother kill his clan, forcing him to endure so much for his sake.

All he wanted to do was change the shinobi system so that events like what his clan and brother suffered never, _ever_ happened again.

Perhaps... Perhaps he went about it in the wrong direction.

Perhaps that's why the inner Itachi in him didn't smile at him. He was frowning. He didn't approve of his brother's idea, even though they were for him! It didn't make sense to Sasuke. Deep down, the world would be better off if shinobi no longer existed. But, this...pain. Once again, his best friend stopped him. While they hadn't died the first couple of times they clashed against one another, this time, what Naruto had told him finally came true. They died while fighting one another.

At one point, he did want to fight for Konoha, to protect it. That was his promise; it was what he told his ex-comrades of the Rookie 9 during the Fourth Shinobi World War. But, he always wanted to remake the system that took his brother and clan away from him. If that could happen, then there was no way a situation like that could repeat itself.

But asking himself, was it really worth the life of those he slain? Was it worth his friend's life?

So in a nutshell, he felt truly awful. Because the emotion he was feeling was absolute guilt. Not just for the slain, but for his past actions. How many times would he talk about 'redeeming' himself? He lost count. The bond he made with blond-haired idiot was still strong, regardless of how many times he tried to sever it. It never went away completely; it had a way of reforming, just like a ripple in the water. No matter how many times it was disrupted, the water's flow would eventually return to normal.

But for the Last Uchiha, this guilt clogging his mind and heart wouldn't fade.

And neither was the pain.

As a matter of fact, why _was_ he feeling pain? If he was killed, and most likely dead, then why was he feeling pain? Maybe this was hell. His soul was probably burning for all eternity or something. Or the Shinigami was enjoying the moment to torture him with his crimes and suffering all at once. It was fitting. He deserved it. He had betrayed his friends, their trust and village for the last and final time. He couldn't be forgiven. The one girl that had a crush on him didn't trust him anymore. The red-haired Uzumaki girl, Karin, most likely never got a chance to try and help him. His former sensei, Kakashi, probably doubted him even more now. But the one person who should have resented him, despised him, loathed his presence, was the one who ended his life. The one who finally let him rest in peace, with that idiotic smile on his face.

Stupid dobe.

So, if he was feeling all these emotions, then was he still alive? How could that be, though? Naruto had pierced his heart and tore out his Rinnegan eye. Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan user tried to move, his muscles screaming at him to stop but he couldn't. Better check with his senses first.

One; sense of touch. Moving his hands and legs to the bare minimum, he felt something soft underneath him. It could be a bed or a futon, but it felt a little barer than those. The ground? Possibly. Feeling again, it seemed more like carpet instead. So, on the ground but the carpet of someplace. His head was upon another soft object, which wasn't the ground but comfier. Blanket? Hm, no. Pillow? Hm, yeah, could be. It was soft enough to be one so it had to be, upon assumption of course. He also felt something wrapped around him, too. The all familiar touch of bandages. They were sloppy handled, as if an inexperienced person did them. They were all around his injuries that he sustained from the last fight against Naruto.

Two; sense of smell. While keeping his eyes closed, Sasuke took a low but deep intake of breath, inhaling the air around him. Then slowly, he exhaled. It was fresh. The air was fresh. In fact, it smelled like new house or a new apartment. How he deduced the last one he wasn't sure. Perhaps because he lived in one before in his early days after the Uchiha massacre—well, more like Uchiha genocide—occurred. He could also smell the use of peroxide and gauze, two critical items for cleaning wounds. He could also smell the coppery scent of blood. It was probably his and again, it was poorly cleaned up. Whoever 'saved' him, if he could call it that, was definitely inexperienced. Wafting around his nose, he could smell something cooking. It smelled like...steak? No, something else... He couldn't pick up on it so he left it alone.

Three; sense of hearing. Sasuke couldn't feel any chakra restraints on him so it allowed him to push chakra into his ears, only a little as he was exhausted of it, and listen to what was going on. He heard the sound of wind, which felt cool like a night's breeze. He could also hear the sound of someone making something, the familiar ding of the microwave, and the bubbling of water and hissing steam as something was poured into it. So, whoever this was, they were cooking. For themselves or for him? Or both? Remaining still, he could hear the faint, tell-tale signs of the person's footsteps. They sounded small like a child's, so perhaps the person was a kid or a really small adult. What were the chances of a kid finding him all the way out of nowhere though? How'd they find him and carry him to wherever this was anyway? Hm.

Four; sense of sight. Well, this one, he wasn't sure about. After all, he only had one eye, his right eye. Slowly, he opened it, and was faintly surprised that he saw darkness was in his left eye socket, as well as a dimly lit room. He saw that he was, in fact, lying on the floor. There was a bed to his right, draped in white sheets. Huh, those look familiar. Shifting his gaze around, he spotted the ceiling of what appeared to be the apartment he thought of before, then two windows that had their curtains closed but the window was obviously open, since the wind was casually blowing through it to let air in. A brown desk that he thought he recognized was against the window. Books and scrolls were tidily placed on the desk, he could faintly see from his current position on the floor.

Craning his neck, Sasuke spotted a small, black TV upon a brown, two drawer dresser and the remote resting atop the VCR. Looking ahead, he could see a half wall blocking the way to what seemed to be the direction of the kitchen or kitchenette, if his assumption of this place being an apartment was true. Streams of steam emitted from the purposeful opening, notifying the Uchiha that someone was indeed cooking something. The kitchenette's light was on and he could see the tan colored cabinets that required a stepping stool to reach. Sighing lightly to himself, Sasuke rested his head back onto the now discovered pillow and waited.

Something didn't feel right though. It was strange, but he could "see" the dark that within his left eye; but how with no eye there? Curious and very briefly afraid of what he'd see, Sasuke opened his left eye, only to find the shock of his life. He...could see out of it. Holding in his gasping surprise, he strained himself to lift his left hand towards it and gently press into the supposedly empty socket. He wasn't met with a gruesome touch of emptiness; instead, his left hand was greeted with the squishy tissue of his eyeball, where it's supposed to be, low eyelashes and all. He traced his fingers above the eye, remembering Naruto slicing it and found a bandage there. So, he _did_ have a scar or something there, but how in the hell did he get his eye? Was it back? Or was it a transplant? Damn, he didn't know! And he felt so weak!

Now that he thought about it, this place felt awfully _familiar_. Where had he seen this place? He wanted answers, but with the excessive chakra exhaustion he was currently dealing with, he couldn't get up to investigate. He had to make sure he was prepared for anything—

He blinked when he thought he saw someone standing over him. His reflexes were fast but his body couldn't respond to the drilled in reflex of drawing his sword—that was missing, now that he thought about it—or a kunai to retaliate. Instead, all he did was managed to shift over and bump his head against the bed's railing, which didn't have favorable results. He groaned just for half a second and reeled in the rest by gritting his teeth. Damn it! Whoever this was, they were—!

Sasuke looked up to see who it was and froze. His dark eyes were locked onto the person standing there, staring right back at him with their equally dark eyes. That hair style, oh-so familiar, the pale skin. The pajamas the person, the _kid_, was wearing. But it was those eyes that reminded him of his childhood when he stared into a mirror. It was those eyes after his brother killed everybody in the clan. Those eyes that had already gone through the tortures of the genjutsu cast upon him, that forced him to relive the nightmares of the slaughters over and over. They were the eyes of the boy who went from happy and loving to an enraged, silent avenger. But this time, he wasn't looking at a mirror. Because the smaller, mirror 'reflection' of this child version of himself twisted his face into a confused state, reminding him he was scarcely innocent. As if he didn't understand what he was seeing right in front of him.

And all Sasuke could do in his shock... Was stare back.

What kind of genjutsu was this? No, was this really hell? This illusion of an apartment—the one he had lived in, now he was sure that was why it was familiar—and this image of this boy that had once been him, staring at him. Was he being tormented by his past? Was his past self, the child who was an avenger, going to judge him? Was he going to berate him for his failures and betrayals? Remind him of the pain and suffering?

If this whole illusion—he was sure this was—couldn't get any worse, it _did_. Because the mini-Sasuke that was before him _spoke_.

"You're awake."

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in Konoha<p>

* * *

><p>Naruto was sure he died and he didn't really mind nor care. Sure, he left his precious people behind, but he died to protect them and free the tailed beasts from Sasuke's Chibaku Tensai. If he didn't, then the bastard would have gone through with his ridiculous plan and he wouldn't allow that to happen. Not after all that shit they went though. He fulfilled his word to the deceased sage, Hagoromo, and now the spirits he and Sasuke represented in this world could finally rest in peace. The endless fight finally resolved with their deaths. Now, he could reunite with his mother, father, Ero-sennin, and Jiji. Heck, he would even see Neji, too. Well, he wouldn't mind it; in fact, that'd be one friend he could interact with in heaven. Oh! He'd also be able to see Obito and Rin, too. Despite he couldn't live for his village and his friends, he was happy. The one thing he would be happy for is that the tailed beasts, even his second best friend, Kurama, were free to roam the world once again. Like they were supposed to. He stopped Sasuke and even though he couldn't stop the cycle of hatred, it could be alleviated with trust and companionship. The combined and continued peace could last as long as everyone in the world wanted it. If there ever was a disruption of the peace, it could be snuffed out and detained.<p>

All in all, he was happy and he was going to be in a place where pain and suffering wouldn't be able to reach him.

So why in the name of the Six Paths Sage was he feeling pain now?

In fact, he felt like he was moving. Really slowly, too. Last he checked, his heart was stabbed and his neck had been sliced, not completely, but enough to cause bleeding. He bled out, just like Sasuke did (he felt it), and died. It couldn't have been that Kurama disregarded his last wish and actually healed him at the last second? Damn it, that had to be it. The fox probably couldn't handle it and tried his best to heal him. As much as he appreciated the assistance, he wanted to die so the battle between him and Sasuke, and their "past lives" could finally end.

And maybe, _maybe_, Sakura had a faint bit of pity and healed Sasuke at the last second, too.

…

Eh, who was he kidding? She probably didn't.

But, now that he could somewhat feel, he felt his body moving on its own at a _very_ sluggish pace. Like he was being dragged by somebody. Why weren't they carrying him? That'd have been the logical thing to do. Come on, he was the Hokage! Okay, he deserved some sort of punishment for going out and fighting the teme by himself but that was because he _had_ to. It was his job as the village leader and as Uzumaki Naruto, to finish what was started between him and the Last Uchiha. Everyone knows he deserved the death he was given. But why was _he_ being dragged like a rag doll?

And this freaking, splitting headache he was having. It felt worse than a hangover and he hadn't been under one except four years ago when celebrating Shika's and Temari's wedding. That was a bad one and Kurama didn't bother trying to heal him from it because he said and quote, 'that's what you get for not listening to me about your alcohol level.' True, he didn't listen.

But whatever. That was then, this is now.

Whatever or whoever it was that was dragging him he felt their grasp on him was really small. Like he was being dragged by a kid. Hold on, why was he being dragged by some kid? Wasn't this supposed to be the afterlife? No, what if he was sent to hell instead? Maybe the grim reaper wasn't satisfied with Sasuke's soul and came for his as well. If so, why was the ground feeling like wood? And it smelled old, moldy and burnt smoke? Maybe the afterlife sure was weird. And Naruto didn't dare to open his eyes yet because his body was screaming at him. Pain was everywhere. Which still didn't make any sense to him if he was dead.

Maybe he wasn't really dead after all?

Wasn't Kakashi-sensei, Sakura and Sai there when he last closed his eyes? This has to be some elaborate, very uncalled prank. Certain people were going to be subjected to doing D-rank missions for the next few months, as soon as he got better or for that matter, got up. Damn, chakra exhaustion. The sound of a key fumbling into something then a door creaking open was heard, and he was dragged yet again by whoever it was at a much quicker pace than before. Now the smell that assaulted him was the smell he thought he'd never smell again. It was the food of the gods, also known as ramen! Well, it was ramen that probably had been eaten already. Leftovers, he deduced but couldn't tell. The scent was everywhere, so whoever this was they were into the stuff like him. After the person/kid/whoever-they-were stopped dragging him, they scrambled—he was certain they scrambled because they tripped and grunted in frustration—and rushed to close the door and lock it.

Naruto was sure he was on the floor because he could smell the rough scent of old carpet and dust. Tiny feet rushed around—now he was sure it was a kid—and darted to and fro to wherever. The next sound he heard was a window opening very lightly and the next was the click of a lamp being turned on. The light wasn't too bright, as he could feel its radiance on his closed eyelids. The tiny feet of the kid then steadily approached him, he was sure because they got closer, and the kid's hands seemed to adjust his uncomfortable position on the ground until he was lying flat (as possible) on his back, his legs straightened out and his arms by his side. He didn't dare show any sort of movement. It wouldn't do to scare the kid by being awake so he pretended to be sleep and listen carefully.

Another light came on because he heard the click and then he heard the kid gasp aloud as if he had seen something important. Heh, well, he is the Hokage; maybe he's shocked to see him in such a state? Maybe that'd give him the incentive to find a medic. He was probably a mess.

A few stumbling around and cabinets opening, the kid apparently was looking for something. The faucet of a sink was turned on, the dragging of something against the ground was heard and the footsteps marched onto something and remained there for a few seconds. The kid apparently turned the water off and was mumbling something about 'the Yondaime' and 'super cool!' and 'I hope he's okay' along with squealing but obvious worry in their voice. Which so happened to sound like a little boy's. Well, of course he looked like his dad. He was thinking about cutting his hair but decided not to. After all, those side bangs were growing in and he'd rather look more like his father. Besides, his friends all approved of it.

The kid's voice also reminded him of his boy; he named his first born son-that-looked-exactly-like-him after his father, Minato. He chuckled internally when he recalled the time he gave his son the nickname "Mini." He remembered the tiny scowl on the boy's face but the giggle that lit up his world when he used his fatherly persona, the Tickle Monster, on him to make him laugh.

After that, he remembered he taught his son the Rasengan for his fourth birthday and the Rasenshuriken on his fifth. His boy had the same issue as him with being a chakra monster, but having more than he did as a kid. Now that he thought of his son, he realized he did almost the exact same thing as his own father did. Left him with a valid and explainable reason. Sacrificed himself for the village. Just as the night when the Kyuubi was released on Konoha and Minato selflessly sacrificed himself to seal the chakra monster, Naruto had met Sasuke's confrontation to defend Konoha and the shinobi world from the Last Uchiha. Except, Naruto didn't have to use his little boy. His son had his mother and friends with him. He wouldn't grow up parent-less and alone like he had.

Naruto sighed to himself nonetheless. He missed his boy already. The kid that put another meaning, another reason in his life to continue living and protect everything with all he had. At least his son would have memories of him to remember him by.

Something wet touched Naruto's face. He identified it as a cloth due to its texture and the wetness was because the kid had ran it under the sink's water. It was cold and the kid was wiping off his face with it. Was his face covered in dirt or blood? Or both? Why wasn't he getting the medics? Naruto was just about to open his eyes and do something when the boy took a sharp intake of breath that made him stop what he was doing. His tiny hands were on his face and seemed to be pressing onto his cheeks now. Huh, was it his whisker marks? Maybe he thought they were cool. His birthday, which no longer was the Kyuubi Festival, rather it was transformed into the Rokudaime Holiday, which many would dress up like him to honor him. It was really cheesy (and he never did truthfully "OK'd" it either) but the villagers wanted to. A lot of the kids dressed up like he did when he was younger—much to his horror. That kill-me-now orange jumpsuit—which he thought he banished—was purposefully remade as costumes for the mass to purchase. Those that had natural spiky hair would dye it as yellow as possible; those who didn't just bought wigs.

There were even Kurama stuffed animals to honor the fox himself for being a partner of their Hokage, too. The small, plushie-sized ones horrified said chakra beast which made Naruto laugh every time they were on sale.

Much to the chagrin, dismay, frustration and annoyance to his personal ANBU guards, they could never find him during said holiday since nearly _everyone_ dressed up like him. Naruto would purposefully henge as his younger self or blend in with the costumed Hokage villagers. It was the only day he could legally and legitimately get away with pulling a couple pranks with nobody being none the wiser. Of course, his pranking ways never truly ceased, especially on April Fools, he just did them less and less as the years went on.

So imagine his surprise when he opened his eyes, he was staring at a kid who looked exactly like he did when he was about seven or eight years old. The kid's huge blue eyes (probably contacts, he thought to himself) were staring straight into his own. The boy also had his shade of blond hair, even the spiky part was well done (either a lot of hair gel, a wig, or his hair was naturally like that and he asked his parents to dye it, he reasoned), and the same whisker birthmarks like he had (most likely painted them on, Naruto thought again). The kid looked like he was seeing a ghost or something because he paled when they kept making eye contact. Naruto noticed the boy was holding the wet rag in his hand but wasn't making a move at all.

Seeing as this staring contest wasn't going anywhere, Naruto stiffly sat up—freaking chakra exhaustion and just exhaustion by itself—making the kid back up, eyes still wide with surprise. Smirking, Naruto thought to alleviate the kid's look. "Hey, no need to have that look, you know? No need to look so surprised."

The boy just continued to stare, looking uncomfortable but shook the uneasiness away a little. "Uh...OK." he said, but it was kind of soft.

"Good, anyway. I best be getting back to my office before someone blows up on me," Naruto said as he was starting to get up. "Oh, by the way kid? Good costume! Looks exactly like me when I was that age."

The Naruto-alike blinked before staring up at him with wide eyes. It was the eyes of admiration or something close to it. "Y-you did?" And then he stopped to realize something else. "Hey, this isn't a costume!"

The Hokage laughed a bit. He was sure the kid was denying the costume to make himself look better. But he wouldn't comment on that and simply said, "Sure did. You must have done a lot of research on me to get that look down. Nobody really knows how I looked when I was seven or eight. Most recognize me from when I was wearing my ridiculous orange jumpsuit." Naruto smiled at the fond memories of the hideous jumpsuit. But, it was his favorite color though and even if it was atrocious, it had been his favorite piece of clothing to wear. In fact, it was the only thing he could wear since that was all he was sold at the clothes store. Hm, now that he thought about it, not a lot of people knew what he wore as a child. This kid had on clothes that weren't sold anymore, at least ever since he had been his age. That black shirt with the red swirl-shape on it and the orange shorts with the several pockets. It had been quite a time for Konoha to get newer styled clothing for the next generation.

Hm, he could think on that later.

"Hey mister?" Naruto focused his attention on the boy, who seemed to forget that he said he wasn't wearing a costume, "Um... a-are you the Y-Y-Yondaime!?"

The older blond chuckled a bit. "No kid, I'm not the Yondaime. It's pretty well known that he's my father, you know."

The boy's eyes widened even further. "W-wow! I didn't know the Yondaime had a son! It doesn't say so in the history books at the academy!" Of course they don't. It wasn't too public knowledge but most of the Elemental Nations knew Naruto was the son of the Yondaime. Only Konoha knew he had a son named after his father, though. "You look just like him, mister!" the boy beamed in excitement, almost as if he was hero-worshipping like he had when he was young and didn't know any better. "Can you tell me a-about the Yondaime?!"

Naruto fully stood up now. His body was still screaming agony at him, but he could manage. He wouldn't be able to do Hiraishin because he didn't have the chakra necessary to handle it. "Sorry kiddo. Maybe another time." He placed his hand on the boy's head and ruffled it gently. The boy gasped a bit before grinning. It was like he never been touched that way before. Huh, he seemed awfully familiar now. And it wasn't because he looked strangely similar to himself as a kid and his son, Minato. No... when he touched this kid, there was this red flag flashing before his eyes that told him this kid was familiar.

Like he knew him.

That was weird. He knew a lot of his people. He would try to get out of his stuffy office and meet up with the citizens and get to know them better so he could have some form of a relationship with them.

The red flags were yelling at him. Naruto removed his hand from the boy's head, who looked half disappointed and half amused anyway. After all, he was excited the son of the Yondaime was there in the flesh. Not like he was as legendary as his father, but he knew his name would get up there. Anyway, he needed to get to his office and then pay a visit to the hospital. Wherever Kakashi-sensei was, he'd have to find the man along with Sakura and Sai. But first...

"Say kid, before I go, what's your name? Best get to know you so maybe we can hang out sometime!" That and he liked this kid. He seemed to have the same hero-worship over his father and perhaps it would do the kid well if he knew him from his own level. Naruto only knew as much as he could from what Ero-sennin told him, what he encountered from the man from within the seal ages ago, the Edo Tensei version of his father and then from Kakashi-sensei's stories. Maybe he could take him out to ramen, too. It could never hurt to have another ramen addict—er, another ramen lover!

As Naruto waited, he noticed faintly that the boy was hesitating on saying his name to him. But the moment faded when the boy got over said hesitation and smiled. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto!" He said with much enthusiasm and conviction.

Naruto's happy smile seemed to fade just a bit when he heard the name. Okay, maybe the kid was taking the little costume thing too far. It was cute, but unnecessary. But, just as he was about to tell the boy to tell him his real name, something akin to Kurama's growl alerted him from within his mind. Wait, Kurama wasn't free? Well, duh, he hadn't died. Somehow.

'**That boy isn't lying.**' the bijuu seemed very tired for some reason, but his voice was full of conviction. '**I can sense my chakra in him.**'

Okay, this was weird.

'Genjutsu then? Oh, I forgot I'm kind of immune to them now thanks to you. So how is this possible—Wait...'

Some strange gears were turning in his mind. Naruto, even though he matured well in the years since his inauguration and read nearly every book in Konoha's library thanks to his mass kage bunshin, wasn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch. Okay, he could be, metaphorically, but that didn't mean much when it came to theories of science. It simply wasn't his forte, and he tried not to dwell on 'troublesome' subjects. But, if this kid is him, that's what the familiarity presence was. The red flags and all. Wanting to make sure this really wasn't some elaborate genjutsu, Naruto entered Sage Mode and flinched when he sensed the chakra signatures all around him and beyond.

He could sense those of the villagers. Ones he knew, but they felt a tad different. Younger, perhaps?

He could sense Kakashi-sensei's signature. In fact, it was nearby, but masked. Why was he hiding?

He could sense several others. ANBU guards.

Another couple of familiar signatures he found; Iruka-sensei, Teuchi-ji-san, Ayame-nee-chan, were a few to name. There were even people's signatures that were around but hadn't been alive anymore, the last he recalled. 'What the hell is going on?' Naruto asked himself, but not really wanting to know. He felt for his friends' and noticed how much...smaller they were. It was like someone took a deaging jutsu and shrunk them. They were still his friends', but they weren't as potent as he used to know them by.

'What..._is_ this?'

One more signature made Naruto's heart stop. It was the one that he hadn't felt in ages. The one who had died during the Chunin Exams. 'Jiji!?' He nearly hyperventilated, but kept his composure. One does not simply lose his cool in front of kids. Especially kids that looked like him! Then lastly, he could feel Sasuke's chakra signature. In fact, he could feel two Sasuke's. 'Huh?' That was weird! Why are there two of them? Wait, now that he thought about it, he could feel his own nearby. When he looked, it was the kid-alike, who was staring at him in a mixture of emotions.

No... This... Everything felt real to him. A genjutsu, no matter how powerful it was, couldn't mimicry a unique signature, especially his own.

"Mister?"

'**Naruto, you need to calm down...**' Kurama's voice attempted to reach him because he was starting to panic, but it didn't. Naruto was focused so intensely on the boy before him, eyes widened as he deactivated Sage Mode. How he still had chakra for it, he didn't know. But that was not the point! The point was he was looking directly at _himself_ and didn't even consider it! He spoke to this kid as if he were wearing a costume of his childhood when he was clearly _in_ it. If... If this is what he thought this was...

'**It is. Brat, you and I... are somehow here in the past. And if the two Uchiha you sensed earlier was any indication, you brought the older Uchiha with you.**'

'...How the HELL did we pull that off? We were...dying!' Naruto was trying his best to calm down but it was...complicated. He brought the teme with him somehow and that could be good or bad news. Time travel was a finicky subject, namely because trying to do it was impossible. And if anything he learned about it in fictional stories and movies was that there was a possibility of paradoxes occurring in which two of the same person existing in the same time and place. There were also a lot of theories running around, one being that if a time traveler tried to kill someone who was supposed to do something in the future time, it wouldn't be possible. Another theory was that alternate timelines or whatnot could happen should a time traveler intervene, but history has a way of regulating itself and attempting to stay back on track on how it should be unless major events were changed. Others state that once something is changed in the past that could affect the future and others say that once the future has happened, nothing can change it. However, the time traveler could change some things in the past but their future would remain the same, thus the alternate timeline occurs.

And unfortunately, by whatever means, he and Sasuke just interrupted the flow of history and landed smack dab into the past. Worse enough, he ended up in the hands—apartment—of his younger self. He also blabbed about being the Yondaime's son, which ironically, was the kid too. As he would put, in Naruto Lesson 101, he just 'screwed things up'.

'Oh, kami, what have I done?'

'**...I'm going back to sleep.**'

'Hey! Don't just leave me by myself!' All he got in reply was a snore. 'Asshole.'

"Um... mister? Are... are you angry at me?" The mini-Naruto asked, absolute worry in his eyes.

"Huh? What made you think that?"

"...Well...The Yondaime's dead now. Your tou-san because he killed the Kyuubi eight years ago. And...people blame me that the Yondaime's dead. I don't know why though..."

'Oh, I know why,' older-Naruto thought bitterly but decided against saying things. Damn. This wasn't looking good. "Hey, no worries kid. Anyway, my name's Tomo," he said, thinking up the name on the spot. It wouldn't do to have the little guy confused with another person having the same name, after all. "And, would it be okay if you thought of me as the Yondaime's brother instead?"

Mini-Naruto raised an eyebrow, but was ecstatic to know his counterpart's (though he didn't know) name. "Why?"

"Because tou-san had a lot of enemies and if they knew I was his son, they'd come after me. Can you keep this a secret for me? Also, my tou-san said he wanted you to be a hero of this village. He asked me to come find you. I want to honor his wish." He didn't want to lie to his littler self but the poor kid needed somebody. Why not himself? That and he couldn't ignore how adorable he was. He reminded him of his son, Minato. He'd do anything for that boy.

"Jiji says I'm a hero, too. I don't know why he says that though. The villagers all glare at me and make me pay a lot of money for stuff in the stores." the chibi said lowly. Then his expression did an about-face and he grinned wide. "But, I guess that's why you looked all beat up when I found you. You were looking for me, huh?"

The older Naruto knew why he was probably a hot mess with torn clothes, bruises and the like. But he couldn't tell the kid, 'yeah, I was in a fight with my Uchiha rival and we stabbed one another in the heart to end a long-time feud.' Yup, that would go well very nicely. Instead of doing something dangerous like that and scarring the child, he simply went with the boy's assumption. "Yeah, it hurt a lot. They got me when I asked where I could find you. But thanks to you, I'm better now."

"But I hardly did anything except drag you to my apartment. I really thought you were the Yondaime or a person pretending to be him." mini-Naruto said, frowning. He didn't like people getting hurt because of him. But the Yondaime's son was here. There was no need to worry. Maybe he was caught off guard and that's why he got hurt. Yeah. Next time, he'd get them. Smiling, Naruto glanced up to the Yellow Flash's son. "This is going to be super exciting! I promise I'll keep your secret, Tomo-sama!"

Naruto—Tomo smiled at...himself. Kami, this was going to be a tad confusing. "Thanks, Naruto-kun. And hey, just call me 'Tomo'. No need for the honorifics, okay?"

"Ok! Hey, can I call you 'aniki'? You look a lot like me, now that I saw your face! You have those lines there, too!" he pointed out. Tomo scowled to himself mentally but there was nothing he could do about it. The chibi already saw them.

"Sure kiddo. And yeah, I was born with these marks." No reason to lie there.

"Really?"

"Yup! Anyway..." He really needed a clock. And a calendar. Well, maybe not a clock, since he looked out the nearest window and noticed it was well into the evening. "You have a calendar?"

Naruto beamed again. "Yeah! Come on, this way! To the kitchen!"

Tomo smiled a little as he stiffly followed his younger counterpart. Oh, this was going to be an interesting predicament. If it was true that Sasuke was here, then where was that teme? Did he run into a similar problem like him, running into his younger counterpart? The former Rokudaime hoped that Uchiha was just as exhausted as he was. That way, he had time to find him after he recovered—since he healed fast—and put chakra restraining seals on him to render him useless.

That and if he was here, he could look out for kid Naruto, who didn't have anybody. The only thing was that he hoped no paradox thing affected him and caused him to disappear.

'I'll have to talk to the Sandaime after this. It'd be suspicious if I didn't. Damn, how'd this happen, anyway?'

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><p>Thanks for the reviews and faves and such. Love this already, haha.<p>

Edit: 9/29/2014


	3. Part III

Part three, here you go. I think I'll keep writing this until it's done. I also need to fix something in the last chapter. Anyway, enjoy. Bye for now!

Edited: 10/8/2014

* * *

><p><strong>Part III<strong>

* * *

><p>This was inconceivable. This was not right. This was...<em>impossible<em>. Sasuke was starting smack shock in horror at the mini-sized version of himself, albeit, the version of himself that had already experienced the terrors of the massacre. He knew because he remembered. He remembered the face he had ever since that fateful night. The night where he lost his emotions, the night that took his happiness away and turned him into the cold avenger that the village sucked up to. It was the look of the lost boy who only wanted to get more power to kill his brother for revenge and then eventually restore his clan and its honor. Sasuke knew it because he had worn that face several years ago.

And now, he was seeing it again. But he didn't like how dark, how cold, how _revenge-filled_ they looked. The little Sasuke apparition, if this was still a damn illusion, just only studied him with his dark eyes. Sasuke was slowly getting out of his shock. He had to break out of this genjutsu, but he was too exhausted from the fight he had with the dobe. Wait, why did it feel like he was still alive anyway? He was sure he was dead. He killed Naruto and Naruto killed him. But this feeling in his chest felt _real_. The guilt and the pain was _real_. And he was scared to think that the illusion of his younger self was also real, too. No, it couldn't be. It was just something to try and frighten him. It had to be a genjutsu! If he was still alive, then perhaps he was healed at the last second before his life faded away.

If so, then it had to have been Sakura. Then again, why would she save him? She clearly despised him, hated him, didn't trust him anymore. Unless Naruto ordered her to heal him, she wouldn't even get near him. She would avoid him like the plague, literally. So, unless that happened, and he was sure Naruto wouldn't order her to heal him since he was dying right alongside him, then why was he here? Why this apartment? Why this genjutsu of his younger self in front of him? Did they capture him just to torture him with his own sufferings? If they did, then he deserved this. He abandoned them. He betrayed them. That could explain why he had his eye "back." It was probably apart of the illusion world around him.

But, he could feel his chakra. Genjutsu would normally disrupt it to make the user feel subjected under the images and illusion. It messes with their minds as well, but he could easily remember the last couple of things he did before he closed his eyes for the last time. What kind of genjutsu was this, then?

Something, very, very tiny in the back of his mind, was telling him this wasn't an illusion, a dream, or anything. That it was _real_ but he ignored it.

"You had the Uchiha clan symbol on your shirt," the small mini-Sasuke said with a flash of anger on his kid face. If he were older, he'd be a force to reckon with. "All the Uchiha are gone, so how come you had it?"

Was this a joke? The mini-him asking him why _he_ had the clan symbol? Hah! He wouldn't fall into the trap of this dream version of the little boy. It had to be some interrogation method of the Yamanaka clan to try and get him to spill information. Sasuke's facial expression shifted into a knowing smirk; he wasn't going to let the 'kid' get to him. The smirk did its wonders, it made the 'kid' him growl in anger. Ha, the illusion was upset. Sasuke: 1 Illusion mini-him: 0.

"You will tell me!" the small Sasuke-wannabe hissed and jabbed his finger into the older version of himself (albeit, he didn't know that) chest.

By that contact, Sasuke froze. The finger wasn't supposed to feel like that. It had a vague hint of warmth to it, like the thing in front of him was indeed alive and human. The small finger also had the human characteristics of flesh and bone. Illusions do not have such qualities. Sure, very strong genjutsu based beings could 'touch' but they didn't have such feelings to them. They didn't feel _alive_ like this boy's finger did. The scowling of the child felt real, and his hot breath against him also felt real, too. Now, the illusion—could it be called that now?—of his younger self reeled in his emotion as much as he could but still supporting the glare.

"You will still tell me why you have the Uchiha clan symbol on your shirt. Nobody is allowed to have it but me! I'm the only Uchiha that should wear that proudly. Not some nobody like you! How... How _dare_ you wear it just when... just when the clan, my _family_, was killed!" the mini-Sasuke pointed out and accused, crossing his arms. Sasuke was still staring at the rather much alive-and-not-an-illusion boy in front of him, his mind going a thousand miles a second.

_How, how can this be? What's going on? Why does this feel real when this is clearly a genjutsu?_ He asked himself.

The inner him seemed to wind up and reply to him. _Because this isn't a genjutsu, damnit. This is something entirely different. It's playing at our memories, but this feels way too real for it to be anything but._

Sasuke scowled internally. _But why is this happening? How could this happen? What did the dobe do to me?_

_It could be that he did nothing. Both of us were dying. I finally thought I was at rest, at peace, because all that pain and suffering that I held in my heart had finally been alleviated. The last thing I remember was...was smiling at Naruto and then my eyes closed. _

Something... Something wasn't _right_ here. Nothing was making sense. He could feel, breathe, see and smell as if he were alive. His chakra, while on the road to recovery, could still be felt. The pain on his body was definitely real, and if he had to guess, the mini-him tried his best to fix him up. Why he was, perhaps because he spotted the Uchiha clan symbol and was curious as to why a dying man had it. _Because he knows the clan was all killed off. He sounded as if it was terribly recent, and that means..._

If this was indeed real, then... then...?

His mind was wandering into dangerous territory, but he pushed it away. No, he couldn't think that. It was preposterous! Ridiculous even! As if he suddenly landed... in the past or something, this had to be some dream still. Yes, this had to be a very elaborate dream. A dream that pain could still be felt at on the physical level. With the eyes of a young avenger glaring at you, accusing you of wearing a clan symbol of the now deceased clan members. Yes, this was... definitely a dream. It had to be. But deep within Sasuke denied it to the high heavens because, fuck this, it felt so damn _real_ to be a dream.

So, in any crazy situation like this, he had to remain as calm as possible. Perhaps he could humor the little brat-him if this was a dream. "I wear it because I am an Uchiha." Sasuke stated slowly, just so the words could sink in.

This made the mini-him scowl deeper. "That's a lie! _He_ killed off everyone! _He_'s the one that murdered the clan! There's no way you are an Uchiha! Stop lying! You're lying!" The little boy's face was contorted into a menacing snarl. Well, it was projected to anyone else other than him it would be menacing. Right now, it didn't even bother Sasuke.

Smirking to himself, Sasuke righted his body into a better sitting position and stared into those dark eyes. He was about to scare the crap out of the kid. "As irrefutable proof of my _lineage_," he stated, channeling just enough chakra to give him the three tomoe marks of the Sharingan to appear, as he didn't have much for the Mangekyou or the Eternal version, "you may look into my eyes, Sasuke-kun." The boy's form went rigid and stiff the moment he saw the red eyes, the spinning tomoe marks in them. It was mesmerizing but it was proof.

They had to be real. They had to be.

The small boy's shocked face twisted into a scowl again. He grabbed him by the shoulders and started to shake him. "How?" He started. He didn't ask him how he knew his name. It was common knowledge in the Uchiha compound anyway. "How did... How did you survive? The massacre! My bro—that _man_ killed everyone! So, how did you survive him? How...!?" _Where did you come from?_ Was the unsaid question. If he looked close enough, there was a vague hint of suspicious tears threatening at the corner of the boy's eyes. He was so close to crying, but he was holding it back. His small hands were gripping his shoulders as hard as they could.

Sasuke could feel it. The turbulent emotions running through this boy, this lookalike him. The anger, the pain, the loneliness, and...hope. Yes, very faint, but the sense of hope that someone other than him had survived the terror of that night. That he wasn't the only one left after all. Sasuke could feel them because he experienced them once. It was funny because the irony of it all was that another Uchiha did in fact, had survived the massacre, albeit, he was born before it and was the man who helped his brother slay them all. It turned out to be his cousin Obito, the one he never knew of because he had been presumed dead from the Third Shinobi World War. The irony was because he was masquerading as their ancestor, Uchiha Madara, while trying to initiate his plans in the background of the Akatsuki.

Such terrible irony of it all.

And Sasuke had been subjected under that once. Why the hell would he let this version of Sasuke suffer? If this crazy notion, this assumption, this ridiculous thought of his really believed him to have somehow landed in the past—because it was _still_ preposterous no matter what angle he looked at it—then he couldn't let this little Sasuke fall into the clan's curse, the Curse of Hatred. Bred on from Otsutsuki Indra, who led to the beginning of the Uchiha Clan to combat against his brother's, Otsutsuki Asura's, Will of Fire that was passed down to his clan and descendants, the Senju. If... If he could steer this Sasuke from it, if he could get the boy to understand Itachi's reason, perhaps he could change his outlook in life. After all, the boy would be loyal to any living kin of the clan and would follow as long as he trusted the words given to him.

He had to be careful of what he said. If anything, if this was some way to redeeming himself for the last time, then he couldn't screw this up. He would have to make it up to Naruto—if there was a Naruto in this place—and they could be the brothers, the friends, the rivals they were meant to be. Without the turmoil, without the emotional sufferings and without having to fight to the death.

Before he deactivated his eyes, which he now knew were in fact real because this _had_ to be a real thing going on, he saw the chakra emitting from the boy in front of him. It looked very similar, if not the smack dab same, signature as his own. This boy was definitely him all right. He couldn't deny that anymore.

"Sasuke," he said calmly as he could to get the boy to stop panicking because he _was_. He carefully settled his large hands onto the boy's small ones that were gripping his shoulders none too gently. "I can assure you that I am of the Uchiha clan. You saw it for yourself. As to how I survived... I was on a mission. I was not here when the massacre happened." He didn't want to lie to him, but if this was the past, then he couldn't say anything that revealed too much about himself. Because he didn't know if he just created a time paradox or not. He never really studied the theories of time travel or anything close to it. Sure, there was this one movie he watched with his teammates once upon a time ago, but that was all fictional. If only he could prove those of his...time...wrong and that this supposed 'time travel' was real. But the methods of going about it was lost to him. In reality, he didn't know _how_ it happened; it just did. And as if fate loved or hated him, his younger self managed to find him and bring him into his—their?—apartment.

"..." the boy's face was crestfallen, and that hope that had been in his eyes was growing. But the faint hint of tears was closer now. He lowered his head, his side bangs sheltering his face as he kept it low. Sasuke the elder heard the boy's mumbling of, "someone else is alive," and "now I'm not alone" along with others. He felt a sharp pain of guilt in him but he schooled his expression. The Uchiha clan were all bastards with sticks up their ass, always preaching about how they are 'holier than thou' to everyone they come across. Sure, they felt elite, but they were capable of other emotions besides the usual. They could love and it was that love that could bring about their Sharingan awakening.

"...not alone... not alone... not...anymore..." the mini-Sasuke's voice was dangerously close to stammering and his body was trembling. Very close to crying.

"I'm Uchiha...Kana," Sasuke the elder told the younger counterpart. He couldn't give out his real name otherwise there would be confusion and a mess of emotions. Also, he would be stuck with telling the boy why he was here and that wouldn't go over well. How fitting he would pick his ancestor's name, though. It wasn't really well known about the brothers of the famous sage many, if not all, revered. "You may have not seen me much or at all in the compound because I was always assigned solo missions by the Hokage. But, I've seen you several times before, Sasuke." _You and your brother_ was left unsaid but it hung in the air.

The boy shut his eyes as he tried and willed himself to not cry in front of him.

"I can...sympathize with you. That our clan was murdered. There must have been a reason for it. I'm... I'm sure." He continued, careful not to reveal too much information.

"But... But my nii—that _man_ killed them!"

Kana stiffened at the desperation in the boy's voice but schooled his expression. "Have you ever considered it was because of a reason?"

Chibi-Sasuke slowly shook his head. How was he supposed to know if it was for a reason or not that his clansmen were slain? His hands lost their will to keep them on the man's shoulders and allowed them to fall to his side. However, they were still held in the man's grasp, almost... tenderly. Like he was trying to comfort him. Yeah, that was it. It felt like an understanding gesture. That he himself had been there and had gone through that torture. But how? He wasn't there to experience what he did. There was no way he could understand! When he shot his head up to glare at the older Uchiha, his eyes widened to see the pain in his eyes. Genuine pain, as if the genocide affected him at such a deeper level than his own. Could this man really sympathize with him?

"Sasuke... What happened was still wrong, even if on the off chance there was a reason for it. But," Kana looked deeply into his eyes, their equally dark eyes that matched. "the revenge in your heart must be quelled. You... you cannot go down that path."

"_You've always wanted to surpass me."_

Mini-Sasuke closed his eyes again, the memory of his brother's words returning to his mind.

"_That's why I'm going to let you live…_"

He clutched his head as if it were in pain because it _was_. He blocked out everything around him as he trembled. He fell to his knees, trying his hardest to suppress his emotions, but the tears were far too close to keep them in.

"_If you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me…_"

The boy didn't feel the arms around his body, pulling him close to a themselves.

"_And by all means flee, cling to your wretched life._"

No. He couldn't give up his revenge. He needed to have power. He needed to hate that _man_. He needed to kill him so his family and clansmen could finally rest in peace!

"_When we battle, we should have the same eyes._"

He _had_ to get the same 'eyes' as his damnable brother. If he could still be called that. He couldn't just let go of that ambition of his! He had to get stronger, more powerful, and find the way to get those same Sharingan eyes as him! He had to, he had to! "No... No... I have to get those _eyes_ to _kill_ him. I have to avenge them, my clan. I have to restore the honor of the Uchiha. I can't... I _can't_ let him live any longer!" The younger Uchiha hissed angrily, an emotion away from breaking down completely.

"There is another way to defeat him, Sasuke. You need to let your heart...forgive him. You need to let him go, and move on." Kana told him.

"No!" Sasuke growled out angrily. "No, I can't! You don't understand! _He_'s the reason why everything—!"

"Sasuke, listen to me. Look at me." The grip around him was tighter, if possible. The eight-year-old refused stubbornly, trying to right his emotions again. But it was hard; this subject was still a sore spot for him. "Look at me, Sasuke." The man repeated more firmly than gently.

He finally obliged and rose his head, his eyes faintly meeting the similar dark orbs of the elder Uchiha. He knew there were tears in his eyes, already running down his face. He didn't want to appear weak in front of this only Uchiha who also survived the incident, albeit he hadn't been there to witness it. He was the last clansman he could rely on. He could help him kill his older brother, help him unlock the Sharingan, and teach him.

"Calm down, Sasuke. I understand your need to avenge the clan. But your pursuit of power will someday cloud your judgment and you will make mistakes you may one day in your life regret with all your heart." Kana said, looking straight into his eyes as he said this. He wanted this boy to really get the message and understand _his_ pain and suffering. The experience he didn't want him to go through. Even if he didn't want to, he would throw the boy into a genjutsu, showing him what his path would take him. He would use his own life as the road this Sasuke was headed down.

"I may not look like it, but I understand your pain. I understand it more than you think. Sasuke... Don't shut out people. Don't allow this to shelter you from your emotions."

Sasuke shook his head, trying to deny what he was being told but deep down, he felt he could... could trust this man. Even if he didn't know him other than being a fellow Uchiha. Something in the pit of his stomach told him this man was being truthful. But how? Why? How could _anyone_ understand this suffering? This comforting feeling... He couldn't wrap his head around this.

"Calm yourself, take a deep breath..." Kana repeated like a mantra. The boy was shaking, trying to school himself straight, trying to steady himself. It would be a hard thing to do because he let out his emotions in front of an unknown Uchiha so easily. With other people, he never did this, so why had it been this easy to show his frustrations with this man? Sasuke couldn't understand it, but for whatever reason, his gut was telling him to trust him. To confide in him. _Because he understands._

"..." He didn't say anything more, just stayed where he was. The position in which the elder Uchiha had them in felt oddly comfortable. He remembered his mother doing this to him when he got hurt or just hugged him. While this wasn't a hug, it was as close to it as he was going to get.

The sound of a ping from the microwave made both Sasuke's (even if the smaller one didn't know it) react by looking up. The little Uchiha broke off from the contact, once looking over his fellow Uchiha carefully, before heading to the kitchenette. His eyes clearly read off as 'we will never speak of this again' which the older Uchiha was happy to comply to. At this age, the smaller Sasuke found tears to be a sign of weakness.

Wordlessly, the younger Sasuke opened the microwave, took out whatever it was before closing it. Then he turned off the stove and began pouring something into a cup, bowl or container. The older Sasuke shifted his position again, trying to find some sort of comfort on the carpeted ground. His body was still in pain and as refreshing as the evening breeze it was, it didn't really help his condition. At least, not in this stage. Ah well, the boy did try to help him. His wounds must have reopened because he felt something wet—that wasn't in his eyes—on his stomach. 'Damn,' he thought bitterly. He felt awful again, but this time, it wasn't from guilt. It was from the agony that his muscles were screaming at him to lie down. 'But it'll hurt if I try to move,' he reasoned with himself.

He'd just stay put for now.

A minute later, the mini-Sasuke returned with steaming bowl in his hands and a spoon. The elder simply raised an eyebrow at it. It smelled like soup now. Tomato soup, too. If he were as young as the boy, he'd probably drool over it. But he was a dignified Uchiha, and dignified Uchiha do not drool. "...I... made this." _For you._

Kana nodded. _Thank you._

The academy student carefully placed the bowl upon the man's lap with the spoon. The older Uchiha steadily reached for the utensil, putting the lower half of it in the reddish colored brew, raising it when he collected a good amount, blew it and tasted it. If anything, his home-cooking skills were adequate enough. Hm, yes, still good as ever. The younger simply sat in front of him, staring intently, as if waiting for the verdict of his home made soup. He received a soft smile of approval, _approval!_, and the man returned to the soup. The boy's eyes widened at that. Sasuke had only had a few people who showed him approval; his father only had once, his mother always did, and his bro—that man when he didn't turn traitorous. A faint part of him felt proud, felt alive as he used to be. But it was only a fraction.

As he continued to watch the older Uchiha, Sasuke thought that perhaps he could learn something from this man. Perhaps... he could try. It wasn't going to be easy because his brother deserved the retribution he wanted to give him. But... But...

'I should try,' He thought.

Tonight, he knew, was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>Next Day<p>

* * *

><p>The next morning, exactly at 4:30 am, Naruto the older woke up by instinct alone. Yesterday felt surreal to him. Hah, as if he accidentally time traveled to the past and met his younger self! What a ridiculous idea. It was a pretty cool dream though. But time travel was all fiction anyway. If he did, he'd love to change some of the stuff that shouldn't have happened. The number one thing he'd change was the day of his birth, definitely. If there was some way he could stop Obito from attacking, then...wait. Even by the circumstances that they were bound together, Kurama was his dearest and closest—in every literal sense—friend. He wouldn't trade their bond, their friendship because of what happened then. Hm, then maybe backtrack a little further in the past before Obito was supposedly killed and change that. Yeah. That way, he would be spared the horror of the older Madara's brainwashing and everything.<p>

The Infinite Tsukuyomi would never happen and the Akatsuki probably would have gone a different route. Perhaps the route it was _supposed _to go to; the peaceful one. After that, he'd kill that snake bastard, Orochimaru. No matter what, he didn't like him. He'd probably still be on his way to finding immortality or whatnot and if the Uchiha massacre never happened, then they'd be missing Uchiha because the snake Sannin would hunt them down for their eyes. Then he'd take care of Danzo. It was self-explanatory of why he should be taken down.

Yep. If time travel were possible, he'd do just that. His parents would still be alive. So would Ero-sennin. Itachi and Sasuke would still be brothers with a loving family. The Uchiha clan would maybe get along better in the village. Jiji would still be alive. Neji's father would still be around. Hinata-chan wouldn't stutter. He'd change all that if he could.

But such was life that such an opportunity didn't happen.

And to his surprise when he found a mop of blond hair and a small body curled up and pressed against him and the signature of the blond felt identical to his. Naruto's eyes widened because this wasn't his little boy, Minato. He held his breath.

'So that wasn't a dream after all.' he thought, hearing the breathing of the smaller version of himself beside him, curled into a ball. 'Oh...shit.'

The mini-Naruto sighed in content and rolled up closer—somehow—towards him. Well, at least there wasn't a paradox happening. Wait, it did. Well, at least he didn't implode or disappear, so perhaps it was okay for him to be close to the kid version of himself. 'I wonder if Sasuke's in the same position? ...Nah, who am I kidding? He would rather roll over in a grave first than be seen _cuddling_ with a smaller version of himself!'

The former Hokage sighed as he slowly inched the smaller him off his person, carefully replacing his body with the spare pillow with a Kawarimi and stood up to stretch silently. 'Okay, first thing's first. New clothes. Reason for is bluntly obvious. Hm,' he checked himself and found that he didn't have his favorite wallet on him. Oh, wait there it was. Naruto fished out his precious Gama-chan, the wallet he's had since he was a child. It was heavily damaged; one of the eyes were missing and three legs were blown off, too. The once bright green the wallet-purse had sported was now a rough charcoal, dirty brown-green color. Naruto grimaced at the state of his precious childhood item that served him through thick and thin, especially when he was ridiculously overcharged with prices.

But, he was still serving his purpose. He'd never throw the wallet away no matter what condition it was in. 'Maybe I could get it cleaned off and sewed back together,' the former Hokage thought. He pried it open, taking a look at his current funds. Do quick calculations in his mind, at least simple math solutions, he found he would have enough to buy the standard shinobi gear of this...time. Man, that wasn't going to get any easier. Naruto still wasn't any closer to figuring out he and older teme got here. If that other Sasuke chakra signature was him. He was certain it was because Kurama said so and he felt it himself. Damn. He just hoped he had enough time to find the betrayer and put him on a leash, a chakra restraining one. After all, he might think this Konoha was the one he was aiming for (still) and wreck havoc trying to find him. If his ambitions were still as solid as before then he'd have no trouble locating the mini-Naruto and that was something he wasn't about to let happen. Not only that, nobody in the village, aside from him, could fight Sasuke, win and live to see another day. He was far too powerful. In fact, he and Sasuke were most likely SS-ranked in Bingo Books, a rank reserved for those extremely strong shinobi.

Turning back to his trailing thoughts, Naruto went over his mental checklist. 'After purchasing decent clothes, talk with the Hokage. Bring Mini-me so the cover story could work and he can vouch for me and explain how he found me. That would be helpful. Then get mini-me out of the office and tell the Sandaime the truth. It'll be hard to convince him but I can prove it because of the sleepyhead fox. Hm, I should go under a henge while out so people won't freak out over my appearance and think I'm the Yondaime...for now. Once I get clearance from the Sandaime, that's when I'll let it go.'

He tapped his chin after he closed Gama-chan and frowned. 'Damn, I forgot about Shika's dad. He is the Jounin Commander at this point and he'll definitely suspect me. And knowing him, he'll be suspicious of me and start trying to figure me out. Especially if I let me real appearance out. ...I'll have to really go under a solid henge. Maybe change my hair and rid of my whisker marks. Naruto will understand if I tell him. Being the 'brother' of the Yondaime will allow me to make the excuse of staying under a henge but I'll release it if only around him in private. He'll understand.' Naruto sighed. There was no way to escape Nara Shikaku. That man is way too observant and far too intelligent. Naruto wasn't a Nara and he depended on Shikamaru's intellect for both politics, strategies, and the like. Freaking Nara's; good to have them on your side, but not against you. At least they could only be found in Konoha.

'Hm, well, none of the stores would be open now, and it's close to five. The Hokage will be making his way to the office right about now. I have to catch him right there, be first and tell him. I'll get mini-me on it later. Gotta think of my alias... hm... I'll keep the Uzumaki surname and keep going with the Tomo, too. Uzumaki Tomo. Heh, funny.' Naruto henged his appearance. It didn't alter the shape of his face or body; those were still the same. He kept his blue eyes the same but his whisker marks disappeared, replaced by smooth skin. His spiky hair flattened a bit, but it was in an undercut style with bangs halfway parted over his eyes. The henged hair fell close to the beginning of his neck, effectively covering his ears in the process.

Heading for the bathroom, he switched the light on to show his appearance and approve it. 'This'll do.' He commented silently and exited the restroom, light off. His clothes were a mess; they were tattered and torn up. His pants were still okay to wander in, and his Hokage cloak—similar to the one his father wore but in an orange color with black flames—was beyond repair. Not that he wanted it repaired. It would be too suspicious. With a grimace, he knew he'd have to seal it into a scroll, stash it somewhere or worse, burn it. This thing was made for him when he was inaugurated. '...To hell with it. I'm just gonna stash it in a scroll and keep it with me. I can't get rid of it like that.' Was his self-made reason.

Glancing at the clock in the room, it read 5:07 AM in bright red text. Better head out now. He looked at the sleeping mini-him in the bed, not a care in the world and smiled. 'That kid...' Naruto thought with a grin before he used the shunshin no jutsu to get to the Hokage's office.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage of Konoha, was just entering into his office when he felt a sudden shift of chakra entering his senses. 'An intruder?' he thought, preparing himself for whatever was coming. The silence didn't last long; a man shunshin'd into the office, right in front of the desk. Hiruzen studied this man, this potential intruder. He had short, red hair, very familiar shade to a deceased red-haired woman he knew, a tan complexion, blue eyes, and his clothes looked like they went through a harsh twister and spat back out. He also seemed quite young, perhaps in his early twenties. Weighing his options, the Hokage decided to question him first. He would study his actions. If they were anything harmful to him or the village, he'd put this man down. "Hokage-sama," the man said in a polite tone, bowing. He didn't even move when his ANBU surrounded him, their weapons out.<p>

"Who are you?" he asked guardedly, none too gently.

The man didn't flinch at the tone of his voice but remained still. "Sir, I will tell you but first, I would like to tell you the truth, but I must seek a private audience with you." The man's tone was grave. The Sandaime frowned but would comply with him.

"Very well." He closed the door to his office and nodded his head to the ANBU. They seemed reluctant but sheathed their weapons and left. When their presence was gone, the old man walked over to his desk and activated the privacy seals. When the low hum of the seals were active, he sat down in the chair and waited patiently. "Now then, what is it you must tell me? I must warn you, if it harms the village in any way, I will have no choice but to kill you."

The man nodded in understanding and remained standing even if he was gestured to sit. "Understood sir, but this might help better than yours." The red-head pulled out a slip of paper with an intricate seal design on it. Hiruzen's eyes widened just a bit, mostly in fascination, some in awareness. The red head placed the seal just beneath him and pressed his left hand upon it. A low mumble of "Seal" and the room lit up in a reddish-orange glow, overwriting the first privacy seals used. The Sandaime's eyes were on the man now.

"What did you do?"

"I used my own version of the privacy seal. Yours is...rigged. You might want to get those checked out, sir." He nodded his head to the Hokage's desk. "My seal is sound proof and chakra resistant. Basically, if we were to fight now using jutsu, no one would be the wiser."

_Interesting,_ the Third Hokage thought. The man obviously had his attention now. "A seal master?"

A shrug was most of the response. "I'd like to think of myself as one. I'm mostly self-taught. My father was one before he died. My mother was one, too but she's dead as well and I learned a little from my sensei before he passed on." Not really far from the truth. Hiruzen noticed since he didn't detect any lie or deception from the man.

"I see. I apologize for your loss, young man."

His blue eyes seemed to pull a familiar eye-smile gesture at him but went back to their serious demeanor half a second later. "No worries. Anyway, Hokage-sama, before I speak of my story, you must realize who I am first. What you see before you is in fact a henge."

That caused for some alarm, but all the Hokage did was show a raised eyebrow. He puffed a little from his pipe. "Oh?"

"Yes." That was all the warning the Hokage was offered as the mystery man dropped his henge and stared at the Third Hokage in the eye.

Hiruzen pratically froze when he saw who was standing in front of him. The familiar spiky, blond hair with the side bangs framing the face, those blue eyes. No, it couldn't be... Could it?

"M-Minato?" He gasped.

The Minato-alike simply chuckled deeply, which sounded awfully like his late successor. Too much like him. "No. I'm not Minato. Try again," the man replied, pausing for a bit before saying, "Jiji."

Sarutobi wasn't an idiot. He wasn't the so-called Professor for anything. There was only one blond-haired person, a child that is, in this village would labeled him affectionately with that name. For this man to familiarize himself with that name, saying it in the similar tone, similar affection that person used, it only concluded to him. Hestiantly, Hiruzen muttered out, "...N-Naruto?"

"Hai Hokage-sama, it's...good to see you again."

This was confusing. How could this be Naruto? He had just seen the boy yesterday when he took him out for Ramen Ichiraku for lunch. But, the hair, the eyes and now the familiar whisker marks on the man's face said otherwise. But still, it could be a trap to lure him into. "How can I be sure you are Naruto?" After all, he dropped his henge. This could be just another henge to get under his skin. A henge over another henge sounded ludicrous in his mind, but he couldn't rule out anything if this were a possible spy.

The older Naruto-alike sighed in resignation. "I had a feeling you'd think that when you saw me. That's why I came prepared, and not alone." Hiruzen tensed. So this was a spy? An assassin? Did he have an accomplice lying in wait? How'd he get through the security of the village? Just as he was about to prepare himself for a possible assault, the man laughed a little again. "Calm down, Hokage-sama. I'm not going to hurt you. I don't even have any weapons on me. And my chakra exhaustion, while I'm slowly coming out of it, hasn't really recovered all the way." Hm, true, but he'd still ready himself for an attack.

However, an energy, a chakra he thought he only felt eight years ago suddenly filled the room. The Third Hokage's eyes widened again when he saw the Naruto-alike channeling that familiar, monstrous chakra, somehow, and his body alighted with an orange, warm glow. However, this time, the chakra wasn't sinister or foul. No, it felt warm, reassuring, and somehow, it felt like Naruto's chakra melded in with it. The man's eyes were red like that beast, but his pupils remained normal as a human's. Black lines and designs decorated some parts of his body and the whisker marks thickened heavily. Two, long strands of his hair shot up permanently into what looked like fox-ears. There was no denying this now; this power couldn't be mimicked.

"...You really are Naruto-kun..." Hiruzen gasped out. "What's this...power? It feels like the Kyuubi's but it's not malicious."

Naruto smiled and powered out of the 'transformation'. "I am, Hokage-sama. I wouldn't and couldn't lie to you about me. You know me way too well. And that power is the joint combination of myself and Kurama's chakra."

"Kurama?"

"The fox."

Hiruzen blinked. "Naruto... You named the fox?"

A light slip of confusion ran over the man's face before it morphed into a faint grin. "No, Hokage-sama. Kurama was his name all along. He doesn't like it when people call him 'Kyuubi' but he also doesn't trust others with his real name, either. It took me a while to finally come to terms with him. I consider him my partner, my best and closest friend. Literally in every sense. We understand each other and he's been willing to stay by side until, well, I kick the bucket."

Hiruzen finally was able to puff his pipe, hands collapsed over each other as they rested on the desk. "I...see. Naruto, you've grown. I'm proud of you." Said man nodded, smiling genuinely, "But, if this is you now, then am I assume you've possibly came from the future?"

"Hai. To be honest, I'm still not sure how it happened. Coming here wasn't my intention. The last thing I remember is killing Sasuke in battle and he killed me, too."

Now that caused Sarutobi to frown. "How did this happen? How old are you, Naruto?"

"Twenty-three. I made Hokage when I was seventeen, a few months after the Fourth Shinobi World War." Naruto finally took the seat adjacent the desk. Hiruzen smiled when he heard his nearly adopted grandson finally accomplish his dream but then frowned. However, there were more pressing matters, like this fourth war.

"Naruto, I want to hear your story. Don't leave anything out."

"Hai, Hokage-sama—"

"Why won't you call me 'Jiji'?" He asked.

"Sorry," Naruto rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly. "I've been drilled into the Polite Etiquette Lessons 101 as my friends dub it, so I've stopped calling those closest to me, what others believe as impolite and rude names. That, and I've had to mature for my position. But, in private, around my new family and friends, I do revert on occasion." He glanced at the Third with a smile. "But, if it makes you feel better, I'll call you 'Jiji' in private, too."

"Only if you wish to, Naruto."

"Hai."

"Now then, explain everything."

* * *

><p>Hours Later<p>

* * *

><p>It took nearly two hours for Naruto to tell his story, namely from after he was eight years old since the Naruto of this time was eight and Hiruzen already knew of his life from birth til then. He told his story from his academy days to the Chunin Exams, where the Third had died to his battle with Sasuke at the Valley of the End, to going on the two-and-a-half year trip with Jiraya and Pain's invasion. He also told him the meeting with his father when the seal was breaking to how he battled the Nine-Tails for its chakra with his mother, and his relationships with his friends and Killer Bee. From the Shinobi Alliance to the war and how the masked man was actually Uchiha Obito. The recollection of the War-turned-fight for the salvation of the world from Otsutsuki Kaguya and the Infinite Tsukuyomi was the hardest part for him to tell, but he did anyway. After that was when he spoke of Sasuke's next ambition, as he 'promised' the then deceased Itachi.<p>

He told him about their battle from then and Sasuke's retreat to recover, taking the sealed Tailed Beasts with him. The rebuilding and healing ot Konoha and the other countries, his inauguration—being the youngest Hokage was a proud accomplishment—his marriage and first born at age nineteen—hey, he had been ready!—and naming him after his father. Naruto had the fondest smile when recalling his boy, remembered holding him for the first time and thought that was what his own father felt like when he held him. Naruto told him how the Shinobi world was recovering from the war, his prowess in fuuinjutsu, the village alliances and how Konoha grew into a fine village under his eight-year reign.

Then, when retelling the last and final confrontation with Sasuke, his expression turned dark. But in the end, no matter what, he still forgave the Last Uchiha anyway. Because nobody else would. Even if he didn't consider him his friend anymore, he would forgive him as a human being. Because he still believed everyone was redeemable in some way. During the conversation, he demonstrated his abilities—those he could at his current chakra capacity—and even his personal seals he created himself.

By the time he was finishing up, which was the conclusion that his younger self had found him somehow and helped him, it was well into seven in the morning.

"My... that's quite a tale, Naruto," Hiruzen said, his face grim, watching the young man his adoptive grandson would eventually grow up into.

"Yeah," Naruto sighed after sipping some tea they made during the conversation. "And it's all true."

"I'm aware. It's just hard to wrap my head around it, but I'll manage." The Third closed his eyes, sorting out all the information he was given by his time-traveling successor's son. "And you say that Sasuke, the one you fought, is potentially in this village as well?"

"He isn't potentially, he just _is_. But don't worry. I already know where he is. I sensed him last night so I'll find him and restrain him. I'm not a seal master for nothing." Naruto supped again. His weary blue eyes, only the eyes a Kage and a war veteran would have, gazed at him. "But Hokage-sama, he's my problem. Let me deal with him. And please don't blame the little Sasuke. He... He hasn't done any of that yet."

Hiruzen frowned but understood the situation. While it wasn't truly his problem, it did concern him since the man that threatened Naruto and killed him, a possible SS-ranked shinobi, was within Konoha. That didn't sit well with him. "Very well, Naruto. I expect you to detain him as quickly as possible and deal with him."

"Hai."

"In the meantime, we'll need to come up with an alias for you as well as documents and a cover story. You look too much like Naruto and Minato and that would cause too much panic in the village."

"I'm aware. I'll use my henge I used when I first arrived here in the office. I'll go by the alias Uzumaki Tomo. My red hair is homage to my mother, after all."

The Third nodded. "Understood."

"Also, I already spoke too much to my younger counterpart that I was the Yondaime's son because I thought he was dressing up as a younger me." To Hiruzen's confused expression, the ex-Rokudaime continued. "I mean, my birthday was changed from the Kyuubi Festival to a full blown celebration of me. People literally dressed up as me. Kids costumed themselves as me when I was twelve, others when I was sixteen, and another set as how I look now. I never authorized that, by the way, but it was what they wanted. I just let it be." He finished with a half shrug. Hiruzen simply chuckled mirthfully at the thought of nearly every villager dressed up as Naruto. "Anyway, I thought he was just playing dress up and that led to questions, then confusion on my part, then using Sage Mode to track down chakra signatures. Turned out everything was...well, not how I remembered and the kid had my own unique pulse so...yeah."

"Hm, that could be a problem. If he knows partial of your true identity, it could spell disaster."

"Not to worry. He promised not to utter a word. And you know, I never go back on my word, even as a kid. He'll keep it secret for me forever. Even if a Yamanaka tried to infiltrate his mind for the information, he'd do everything in his power to keep it under lock and key." Naruto reassured the Hokage.

"If you're sure, Naruto."

"Positive. Anyway, I'll keep under my henge as before. I don't mind if I stay in the apartment next to my younger self's. It'll give me the assurance that he'll be safe if I'm nearby. That and he already labeled me as his adopted 'aniki' so I don't want to disappoint. He reminds me too much of my son."

A fond smile traces Hiruzen's face. He recalled a similar expression on Minato's when the man was telling him about his team. Shaking his head out of the memory, Hiruzen went ahead and pulled out the necessary documents for Naruto fill out. "Very well. Your new name is Uzumaki Tomo. I assume you'll place yourself from Uzushiogakure?"

"Hai," Naruto said as he started filling out the papers.

"What rank do you believe you should be in?"

The blond lightly paused before continuing his handwriting. "Technically, I never made it passed Genin, but I like to believe myself as Jonin, if I can't be Hokage." He added the last bit with a grin. Hiruzen mimicked it and pulled out a Konoha hitai-ate.

"I believe you. From what you told me, demonstrated and accomplished, you should be Jonin, at least a Tokubetsu Jonin, under fuuinjutsu specialist. You'll be 'promoted' as soon as I can schedule the test."

"I accept. Thank you, Hokage-sama."

The old man nodded, smiling still. "It's the least I can do for you, Naruto-kun. And as a fellow Kage."

The blond shook his head. "Not in this time, I'm not Hokage. At least, not anymore. The Rokudaime doesn't really exist anymore. The moment I landed myself here, it was nullified. I don't want to ruin my younger self's dream. But I'll help him and the others to making their own. As much as my irrational side wants to hurry up and change things, I don't want to alter too much of the time since messing with time is fickle. My future knowledge would be moot and useless against future foes." Naruto—or rather Tomo—said. He filled out everything he could on the papers. The one thing he couldn't lie about was his birthday—he'd share it with his littler counterpart. He handed them back to his adoptive grandfather figure and waited as he examined every detail before nodding in approval.

"Here's the key to the apartment next to Naruto-kun's. Also, money for you to purchase a few things for it." Before Tomo could protest, Hiruzen gave him a hard stare. "If I must order you to spend it, I will."

Tomo sighed. "Hai, Hokage-sama." He begrudgingly took the money, feeling like he just stole from the bank.

"Good. Now, go by you some new clothes and furniture. Don't worry about Naruto-kun. He normally wakes up late on the weekends, you should know."

"I do. I'll purchase new clothes first, then get the teme taken care of and tend to my other...finances."

"Very well. You may leave as soon as you wish." Tomo stood up from his seat, henged into his earlier appearance and nodded at the dismal. "Oh, and Naruto?" Hiruzen called to the man who turned back, "I'm glad you're here. And don't forget I'm proud of you and that you know I will help you with anything that I can." Hiruzen smiled warmly. The aforementioned smiled and nodded back.

"Thank-you. I'm glad you believed me. I'll do my best to make sure all the wrongs of my time never happen. Oh yeah, here." Tomo stepped towards the desk, looking underneath it and finding the privacy seal that eventually gets keyed into each Hokage's chakra signature. He applied his own privacy seal next to it, keying it to his and the Hokage's signatures. "There we go." To Hiruzen's next quizzical glance, he explained. "When I said it was rigged earlier, I meant that Danzo had rigged your privacy seal, so he could listen in on your private conversations. I found that out when I made Hokage, even though Danzo was already killed before then. It wouldn't do to have potential listeners. Also," the red-head applied a very delicate and intricate seal to his grandfather figure's left hand, grinning as he the old man seemingly recognized the design.

"The Hiraishin seal..."

"Yeah. I remade it into my own. This way, I don't need the kunai with the seal like Tou-san did. I can use it anytime because of Kurama. As long as I can remember the location and visualize it with clarity, I can get there. The seal just helps locate people's positions so I can flash over to them faster." Tomo stated with obvious pride. "Whenever you need me, Hokage-sama, just channel some of your chakra into it and I'll come right away. I know you have your ANBU guards, but I feel much safer if I can get to you within a half second's time."

Hiruzen smiled, obviously proud as well. "Very well, Tomo-kun. Thank you. Now, get along. You have much to do. I'll handle things from here. But I'll need to see you tomorrow morning so we can file you a cover story."

"Hai. Well, I'll be off now." Tomo dispelled the first privacy seal, the room returning to its normal atmosphere and the man was gone via a shunshin. As Hiruzen stared at the spot where his future grandson-figure was, he sighed. This was too much, but it helped that he knew what Naruto knew. He would be careful with the knowledge he had and tread carefully. He hoped he could deal with the future Sasuke well enough before he started causing havoc. An unstoppable havoc at that.

'It's all on you now, Naruto-kun. I believe in you and you have my utmost support.'

* * *

><p>How fun. Hope you all like so far. Thanks for the addsfaves/reviews and stuff.


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